Fifty need-to-know fiber and yarn terms:
Adipic acid: A key ingredient in type 6,6 nylon.
Bicomponent fibers (also known as composite fibers): Fibers composed of two or more polymer types.
Blending: The combining of staple fibers of different physical characteristics to insure a uniform distribution of these fibers throughout the yarn.
Brilliant yarns: A name given to yarns made by twisting metallic threads with silk or wool.
Calibration (yarn): The measurement of the diameter of a yarn.
Carding: A process in spun yarn manufacturing where the staple is opened, cleaned, aligned and formed into a continuous untwisted strand.
Caprolactam: The chief raw material used in the production of type 6 nylon.
Celebrate!: Hoechst Celanese Corp.’s trade name for its acetate fiber.
Combed yarn: A cotton yarn which, in addition to being carded, has been combed in order to remove all short staples and other impurities.
Continuous filament yarn: A yarn composed of continuous filaments assembled with or without twist.
Crimp: The waviness of a fiber.
Dacron: DuPont’s trade name for its polyester fiber.
Denier per filament (dpf): The denier of an individual continuous fiber or an individual staple fiber if it were continuous. Officially, it is the number of unit weights of 0.05 grams per 450-meter length. Lower numbers represent finer sizes, higher ones coarser sizes. Dorlastan: Miles Inc.’s trade name for its spandex fiber.
Drawing: The process in yarn manufacture in which yarn is elongated by passing it through a series of pairs of rollers, each pair moving faster than the previous one. Drawing is aimed at reducing the soft, large mass of fiber to the final usable yarn size.
Duraspun: Monsanto’s long-staple acrylic fiber whose whiteness is achieved without the use of bleach.
Extra-long staple cotton: A fine cotton fiber of 1 3/8 inches or longer. The fibers are characterized by their luster and strength. Sea Island and pima cotton are the two most common types in the category.
Fiber: The fundamental unit used in the fabrication of textile yarns and fabrics. Specifically, it is a unit of matter characterized by having a length at least 100 times its width. The term also refers to units that can be spun into yarn or made into fabric by various methods.
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Fiberfill: Man-made fibers that have been specially engineered for use as filling material. Fiberfill generally is made from polyester.
Filament: A fiber of indefinite or extreme length, some of them miles long. Filament fibers are generally made into yarn without the spinning operation required of shorter staple fibers. Filament yarns are also smoother than yarns made of staple.
Flyer spinning: A method of spinning by means of a driven flyer. It is used primarily for spinning coarse and worsted yarns.
Fortrel: Wellman Inc.’s trade name for its polyester fiber.
Fortrel EcoSpun: Wellman’s Fortrel polyester made from recycled plastic soda bottles.
Grease wool: Wool as it comes from the living sheep, not washed or scoured.
Hot-air shrinkage: The reduction in the dimensions of a yarn or fiber induced by exposure to dry heat. A fundamental property of all fibers.
Lycra: DuPont’s trade name for its spandex fibers.
Marl yarn: A yarn made from two rovings of contrasting colors drafted together, then spun.
Mercerization: A treatment designed to increase the luster of cotton yarn or fabric. The yarn is immersed under tension in caustic soda, which causes a swelling of the fiber, increasing the luster.
Microfiber: A fiber whose width is less than one (1) dpf.
Micron: A unit of length, usually used to describe the thickness of a fiber. One micron is a millionth of a meter. A human hair is about 50 microns.
MicroSupreme: Cytec’s trade name for its acrylic microfiber.
Partially oriented yarn: Filament yarn in which the draw ratio is less than normal, resulting in only partially longitudinal orientation of the polymer molecules.
PET (polyethylene terephthalate): The key ingredient in plastic soda bottles, which are used in the manufacture of recycled polyester fibers.
Pick: A filling thread or yarn that runs crosswise or horizontally in woven goods. The pick interlaces with the warp to form a woven cloth.
Ring spinning: A system of spinning in which the drawing, the roving, the twisting of the yarn and the winding of it onto the bobbin occurs simultaneously and continuously.
Slub yarn: A yarn of any type which is irregular in diameter. Slub yarns are popular in novelty effects.
Sno-brite: Monsanto’s short-staple acrylic fiber.
Spinneret: A metal disk containing numerous holes used in yarn extrusion. The solution or melted polymer is forced through the holes to form yarn filaments.
Solution dyeing: A term used to describe a continuous filament yarn of man-made fiber of various types, in which the coloring matter is introduced into the spinning solution prior to extrusion through the spinnerets.
Spinning: The process of making yarn by any of several methods from fiber.
Spun yarn: A yarn consisting of staple fibers usually bound together by a twist.
Tencel: Courtaulds Fibers’ solvent spun, cellulosic fiber. The fiber’s interim generic name is CF0001.
Textured yarns: A general classification for continuous filament man-made fiber yarns that have been treated to give them a hand and appearance different from untreated yarn.
TOW: A large group of continuous filaments, without any definite twist, collected in loose, rope-like form.
Trevira: Hoechst Celanese Corp.’s trade name for its polyester fiber.
Trevira II: Hoechst Celanese’s polyester made from recycled plastic soda bottles.
Upland cotton: The most common form of cotton grown in the U.S. Fiber runs from 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch in length.
Worsted system: Manufacture of worsted yarns from medium or longer wools, alpaca and mohair. Generally, the processes employed may be grouped into carding, drawing and spinning.
Yarn: A continuous strand of textile fibers falling into two basic classes — spun yarn or continuous filament yarn. Yarn is the basic material which is made into fabric, thread, twine or cable.
Yarn dyeing: Dyeing of yarn prior to weaving or knitting. The yarn is usually dyed one solid shade.